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Musing About Writing

My latest book will be out soon. It is titled Princess Edwina and the Wild Horses: How A Brave Princess Saved A KingdomI have reversed the roles in the traditional fairy tale and made the princess the star of the story. She is strong, she is brave, she is smart, and she is beautiful. Here is a short excerpt from the story:

. . . a good prophet told him, “You will return when wild horses restore the kingdom to the king who wears the sacred crown.” What a strange prophecy! And how could it ever come to pass? The good king now pretended to be a poor farmer, and he and his wife and son lived a very humble life. But they had food to eat and clothes to wear and they loved each other, so they were happy. One morning after they had milked their two cows and led them out to the pasture, they heard a loud noise. It sounded like the hooves of many horses running at full speed. They looked and saw dust rising in the distance. The noise and the dust quickly grew louder and denser and closer. "The cows!" the good king shouted, "We must get the cows!" But before he could move to protect the cows, a herd of wild horses thundered through the pasture and past their house while they stared in wonder. Incredibly, the cows were safe. The stampeding herd of wild horses had flowed around them and not one was hurt. "This is most peculiar," said the good king to himself. Then he thought of the prophecy. "If only those wild horses could seize my kingdom from my wicked cousin," he thought. As the horses disappeared from view, a lone rider on a magnificent black stallion approached at full speed. She appeared to be chasing the wild herd. Seeing the good king, whom she mistook for a poor farmer, she reined her magnificent black stallion to a halt. The stallion continued to prance around and paw the ground and snort with impatience. "Ho, good man, can you tell me which direction the wild horses went?" "Why, yes, they went that way," the good king pointed to the now tiny speck of dust in the distance. At that, the beautiful princess—for that is who she was—left quickly, again chasing the wild herd. That night the handsome prince could hardly sleep for thinking about the beautiful rider on the magnificent black stallion.